


Running

by dreamsheartstory



Series: Once Upon a One Shot [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, High School, reunited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-27
Updated: 2014-09-27
Packaged: 2018-02-18 22:44:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2364740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsheartstory/pseuds/dreamsheartstory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, Ruby & Belle were best friends in high school, but haven't talked since. Nine years after graduation they're reunited.</p><p>Prompted by <a href="http://mwritesstuff.tumblr.com/post/98516493452/can-you-do-a-red-beauty-fan-fic-were-ruby-and-belle">ilovevicjustice</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Running

“Ruby, when did you graduate anyway?” Ruby looked up from the plates she was stacking back in the wait station and over to her coworkers who were leaned against the counter waiting for something to happen. She shook her head and smiled, knowing full well several of them had a bet going about how old she really was.

“That long ago, eh?” One of them quipped, Ruby shot him a faux menacing glare.

“You wouldn’t know anyone I went to school with,” she answered with a shrug. It had been years since she had talked to anyone from high school and she would rather keep it that way. On the off chance they had an older sibling that knew her, it was just safer to not say anything. High school had been a bit of nightmare, especially the end of it. The only thing that kept her sane had been her best friend, Belle French, but good things in Ruby’s life didn’t tend to stick around long. She had a way of running head first into things without thinking them through and mucking up the execution.

Their friendship had ended with a spectacular bang. Hidden in the library stacks the girls had been arguing in hushed tones about what would happen next year when Belle went off to her Ivy League school and Ruby stayed in town for college. She had a full ride track scholarship and the local college was kind of a big deal when it came to that kind of thing. 

In a moment of desperation to explain what she was feeling and how she felt when she didn’t have the words Ruby had made a move to kiss the other girl. She had hesitated long enough before actually kissing Belle for her brain to kick in and realize she could ruin everything they had. So she ran, quite literally. Running was what she was the one thing she was good at. In the process of trying not to ruin their friendship she had ruined it. Belle never came after her and a few days later was graduation. 

Ruby had graduated nine years ago.

The bell on the door rang as a customer came in and Ruby snapped out of her reverie. It was no use thinking about Belle anymore. She didn’t even come back to visit her father, it was beyond unlikely that she would come back to see Ruby. 

“I’ll have an iced tea, thank you.”

Ruby dropped the plates she was putting away. The ceramic crashed to the floor, shattering. All eyes turned to her as Ruby looked up to see Belle standing on the other side of the counter. Ruby couldn’t breath. She was caught in that moment again, to go forward or run. Last time she had ran, the only time running had failed her.

“Belle?”

“Hi, Ruby.”

“I–I have to clean this up, do you have like five minutes?”

“Um, yeah. I’ll wait outside.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Ruby ducked down beneath the counter and started to pick up the shattered plates. She could feel her face flushed and her hands were shaking. The last time they had talked she had made a fool of herself, this time hadn’t gone much better. Nine years. It had been nine years and Belle just happens to walk into the one coffee shop that Ruby works at and nonchalantly orders an ice tea. What was she doing on this side of town anyway; it was miles from where they grew up. Ruby avoided their old neighborhood, tried to avoid everything and everyone from back then. It was too hard being constantly reminded of what she had lost. She threw the ceramic into the trash with a bit more force than she meant to. Fuck. This was not the reunion she had imagined.

“Why don’t you take this out to the girl?” One of the baristas handed her the iced tea Belle had ordered. “Old friend?”

“Yeah, high school.” She took the tea and left her apron on the counter before walking outside. Her mind raced and her heart pounded in her chest. Why after nine years would Belle even want to talk to her. Why not just make an excuse and leave. Clearly they had stopped being friends the moment Ruby tried to express how she felt. She swallowed down her panic and the pain behind it.

Belle looked like she had back then, youthful and full of life. A book was tucked in her purse, some things didn’t change.

“Here’s your iced tea.” Nine years and she couldn’t think of a thing to say. No that wasn’t true, she could think of plenty of things to say, or do, but none were appropriate.

“Thanks,” Belle took the proffered drink. “That was a hell of an exit you made.”

Ruby looked to Belle in confusion. “Back there in the library. I know it was nine years ago and you probably don’t think about it much but –“

“I think about that day all the time.”

“So why did you run?”

“I was worried I would lose you, seems I did anyway.” Ruby shrugged. “You never came after me. I assumed I had my answer.”

“You looked pretty freaked out, I thought I’d let you calm down. I thought you would call, but then you didn’t, so I didn’t, and I’m guessing that’s why you never called. Then it seemed like too much time had passed. I figured I would never see you again, and that would be that.”

Ruby leaned against the wall of the coffee, and Belle followed suit next to her. For a while they stayed in silence, watching the cars go by and the sun sink lower on the horizon. It was strange talking about that day in the library like it was only yesterday. There had been a thousand chances to make things right and neither of them had. Out of fear of rejection or otherwise Ruby didn’t know, but there they were nine years late.

“Is this you, coming after me?”

“Yeah. Yeah it is.” Belle’s hand reached out for Ruby’s and their fingers intertwined. A calm settled over Ruby, she didn’t have to run.


End file.
